


The Former Prince

by ibided



Series: The Cat Formerly Known As Prince [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Darcy likes kitties, Gen, Shapeshifter Loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-24
Updated: 2014-02-24
Packaged: 2018-01-13 14:08:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1229320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibided/pseuds/ibided
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki plots...</p><p>Takes place a few days after Thor: The Dark World.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Former Prince

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning of the story, chronologically speaking.

Loki was exhausted.

Physically, he was more tired than he had been in decades. It was a little surprising, seeing as he had spent the last year or so languishing in Asgard’s dungeons, but he reasoned that having to heal himself from the very brink of death had taken an immense amount of energy and he was entitled to feel a little weary. 

But that had been five days ago, five days since Odin had surrendered to a grief-fuelled sleep, four days since Thor had refused the throne and returned to his woman. Even the enchantments and illusions Loki was sustaining to keep the Allfather’s true whereabouts a secret should not have been enough to keep him feeling so tired. As the time neared for the Odinsleep to end and for the adopted prince of Asgard to make himself scarce, Loki began to suspect that he suffered from the same affliction as Odin himself: emotional exhaustion.

Loki hadn’t thought himself capable of such sentimental nonsense, but the events of six days prior had proved him wrong - he had almost lost his mind with the pain of loss. 

He thought back to the last conversation he had had with Frigga and very nearly wished that he had died at the hands of Kurse. Odin had deemed Loki unworthy to be the king of Asgard, but the far worse reality was that he had never been worthy to be called Frigga’s son, and yet she herself had affirmed her love for him again and again, even in the face of his denial. Truly, he was a bastard in every sense of the word.

Loki’s hand tightened around Gungnir. His time in Asgard was running out. The smartest and best place for him to go now would either be as far from Thor as possible, or as close to him as possible without attracting attention. Loki had not forgotten his former allies, nor the threats to find him and make him pay if he failed them. His supposed death would buy him some time, but the Mad Titan would come after him eventually. He would also exact his revenge on Earth, regardless of who defended it – in fact the higher the body count, the better as far as Thanos was concerned. So was it better for Loki to be there when the armies came, or to be worlds away?

The thought of hiding on some backwater moon with the rejects of the universe did not appeal. After the last few years Loki longed for a few creature comforts, like the ability to rest his head in relative safety, and more than 100 square feet of space. He preferred the advantage of knowing what his enemies were up to, rather than hiding in the dark and hoping not to be found. 

Midgard it was then.

He would need to change form, into someone or something non-threatening. And he would need to be near Thor, but not so close as to arouse suspicion or risk recognition. It would be unlikely that he could go for very long without making a little mischief, but of course he would need to be able to get away with it.

A true smile graced the visage of the God of Mischief for the first time in days as the perfect solution unfurled in his mind.

 

It had been orientation day at Stark Tower for Dr Jane Foster and Miss Darcy Lewis, and the latter had a satisfied smile on her face as her taxi pulled up outside her seriously swanky apartment building. She knew she was going to love working in the R&D department at Stark Industries, even if she was still doing exactly what she had been doing for the last two years with Jane. She actually had a real honest-to-goodness salary now, and the job came with a rent-free apartment in Manhattan!

Sah-weeeet!

And this particular apartment building seemed to have its very own cat mascot, Darcy noted, seeing the apparently ownerless feline skulking about the foyer again. He was a cute little thing – skinny and black with little gold tips on his ears and the brightest green eyes. Perhaps she could make a friend out of him…

**Author's Note:**

> Or maybe I should say "the purrfect solution"...


End file.
